


The Craving

by st_mick



Series: Niffler [22]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Torchwood
Genre: CoE - Day 3 - Reimagined, Ianto has a plan, M/M, Misunderstandings, Sneaky Nifflers are Sneaky, Some angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 19:03:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18762526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/st_mick/pseuds/st_mick
Summary: Ianto returns to the hub with some handy royal papers and a plan for getting Torchwood back in the game.  By morning, cameras have been installed and Clem is safely in Torchwood custody.  As the day progresses, they discover more about the aliens.  By the time Jack returns, they have made their demands.





	The Craving

Ianto took Harriet back to his grandfather’s, still feeling a bit bemused about _that_ , but happy for them, as they seemed rather good together.  He stayed and chatted for a while, answering Steven’s questions about wampus cats and making sure Alice had his number in case she needed anything.  Theodophilus walked him out to the perimeter of the property where the wards would not prevent him from disapparating.

“Everything all right, Ifan?”

Ianto nodded, but wouldn’t meet his grandfather’s eyes. 

“It’s just,” Theodophilus said tentatively, “you seem a bit troubled, beyond this situation with the aliens.  Is,” another hesitation, “is everything all right, with Jack?”

Ianto snorted.  “I was just fooling myself, is all.  He always said he didn’t like labels, didn’t like the word ‘couple’.  But I thought things were…” he trailed off and sniffed.  “Doesn’t matter.”

“You can’t doubt that he loves you, Son.”

“I can’t doubt that he _did_ ,” Ianto replied.  “But by his own admission Jack has always had the sexual attention span of a mayfly.  Pretty sure he’s ready to be single, again.”

Theodophilus frowned.  He had just seen the two, the weekend before last.  What he had seen then did not tally with what he was hearing, now.

“Stupid, really.  To think someone like me could hold on to someone like him,” he muttered.  His grandfather was too shocked to respond, which he took as further proof.  He nodded, then said, “Once this is taken care of, I’ll ask the Ministry to conclude my tour with Torchwood.  Maybe be an actual Auror, again.”  He smiled, but it was clear his heart wasn’t in it.

“Ifan, I hope you will take my advice, and talk to Jack before you make any drastic decisions.  I think you may have jumped to a conclusion, here.”

Ianto shrugged.  “Sure.” 

Theodophilus sighed.  “Be safe, Ifan.”

“I’ll do my best, Taid.”  Ianto hugged him and disapparated.

***

It was eight o’clock that night before Ianto returned to the hub.  He was exhausted, despite the involuntary nap he’d had earlier.  Toshiko spotted him, first.

“Ianto!”  She ran up and hugged him.  Stepping back, she looked closely at him.  “What’s wrong?”

“Just tired.  Still locked down?”

“It should lift any time, now.”

“Ianto, Love, we need to go to London,” Gwen came bustling up.  “Clem MacDonald ran away from the facility he was staying in.  He’s been detained in London.  Andy has them holding him, to release into our custody.”

Ianto rubbed a hand over his face.  This was his reward for not calling to check in.  “I’ve already been to London twice today.  Can we go in the morning?”

Gwen looked at him.  “You all right?”

“Fine,” he sighed.  Then he looked around.  Donna and Mickey were at their desks.  Rhys was in the kitchenette.  He could hear Owen clattering around in the med-bay.  He looked at Tosh.  “How is he?”

“He’ll live,” Jack said from behind them.  When Ianto turned, Jack said, “Where have you been?” his voice harsh.

Ianto drew himself up.  “I took your daughter and grandson to stay with me taid.  He’ll keep them safe.  Gave her a burner phone.”  He took his own burner from his pocket and tossed it at Jack.  “Her number’s programmed in, if you want to check on her.”

“I was going to tell you,” Jack said defensively.

“I seem to be hearing that a lot, today,” Ianto muttered.  Then he looked at Jack.  “She told me it was her idea not to tell me, so you’re off the hook.”  He moved to step around Jack.  “Don’t concern yourself, Jack.”

Jack looked like he was fighting his temper.

“Jack,” Toshiko spoke up.  “Detective Swanson is waiting with a van in the parking garage.  As soon as the lockdown lifts, they can take the prisoners.”

“Good,” he nodded.  He caught Ianto’s arm.  “Nicely done, capturing them all.  And getting rid of the bomb.”

Ianto didn’t turn back, but he gave a curt nod.  “Sorry I jinxed you.”

“I’m not.  Wouldn’t have wanted to be opened up while I was still awake.”

“Yeah, that’s not exactly fun,” Ianto muttered, remembering when Draco and Susan had been forced to do that to him.  Mostly what he remembered was Jack, though, anchoring and soothing him through the agony.

“Thank you,” Jack whispered, squeezing Ianto’s arm before releasing it.

Ianto looked back at him, and Jack didn’t understand the longing and sadness in his expression.  “You all right?”

Ianto looked away.  “Had a busy day.  A debrief would probably be a good idea.”

Just then, the alarms signaling the end of the lockdown sounded.  Ianto and Mickey went down to grab the prisoners, who were not yet awake.  To save time, Ianto levitated them all up to the main floor, then he, Owen, Mickey, Rhys, and Jack hauled them out to Swanson’s van.  Within ten minutes, they were loaded up and gone.

Rhys went out for food and Ianto made coffee for everyone.  When they settled in the conference room, Jack looked to Ianto.  “Well?”

Ianto shifted.  “I ended up having an… eventful day.  When I took Alice and Steven to Taid’s,” he hesitated, then barked out a laugh.  “Well.  Turns out he and Harriet are seeing one another.”

There were whistles and catcalls around the table.  “What, the former prime minister and your grandad, like a proper couple?” Mickey laughed.

Ianto actually flinched as though someone had taken a swipe at him.  He covered by getting up and going to pour more coffee.  In that moment, Jack realized a small portion of the damage he had done the day before, and resolved to apologize at the first opportunity.

“I wouldn’t want to assign a label,” Ianto said quietly, and it was Jack’s turn to flinch.  “The important thing is, when I told them about the blank page, Harriet was outraged.  Said the captain here is under the protection of the Queen.  Said Frobisher would never act without passive approval from Green, who should have known better than to allow it.  She was quite angry, actually,” he chuckled.  “One thing led to another, and by three we were sat down to tea with Her Majesty, to explain the whole sorry tale.”

He sat back down and glanced at Jack.  “She knows I’m a wizard, now.”  He shrugged.  Wouldn’t matter, soon enough.

“That’s safe with her,” Jack said, putting a hand over Ianto’s. 

Ianto discreetly pulled his hand away.  “She asked if we wanted a seat at the table.  I,” he looked at Jack apprehensively, “I hope I was right to tell her that we might be more effective away from the table, since what’s happened at the table so far has been a bit unsavory.  She offered what information she’d been given in briefings, and…” he cleared his throat and adjusted his tie.

“What?” Jack asked, a ghost of a smile forming as he wondered what his lover had talked the queen into.

“She said we have carte blanche from the crown to do what needs to be done.”  He pulled the papers out of his pocket and set them on the table, the wax seal prominently displayed.

Owen and Mickey whistled as Jack sat back, stunned.  Lizzie didn’t _do_ blank checks.  “You must have impressed her,” he said, reaching for the papers.

Ianto snorted, shaking his head.  “Hardly, Jack.  She was seriously hacked off that someone had defied her order and tried to blow you up.”

“So what did she say about our aliens?”

“They’re called the 4-5-6, after the frequency they use to broadcast.”  He stopped speaking when he saw Jack go very still.

“Tosh, what were the names of the others on the blank page?” Jack asked, his voice quiet.

“Captain Andrew Staines, Ellen Hunt, and Michael Sanders,” she answered, pulling up pictures.

Jack stared at the screen.  “Can you find pictures of them, from around 1965?”

After a few keystrokes, younger versions of the three were on the screen.  Jack stood and backed away.  “Gods,” he muttered.  He ran a hand through his hair.  “I never knew their names.”

Owen was about to make a lewd comment, but Donna kicked him, seeing Jack’s obvious distress.  “1965,” she muttered.  “That’s when Clem MacDonald was abducted.  He was living ten miles outside Arbroath, the Holly Tree Lodge.  It was an orphanage.  I looked up the files.  The kids were taken away in November 1965.  The Lodge was closing down.  They were being taken to a second care home called Harbour Heights in Plymouth, except that’s where the records stopped.  There’s no trace of them arriving.  I mean, it was the sixties, a lot of the paperwork’s gone missing.  But if what he told Gwen is true, maybe they never got there.”

“You know these aliens, don’t you, Jack?” Ianto could tell Jack was struggling.

Jack nodded.  “Just… give me a minute.  What else did you find?”

“They sent through a packet of information during one of the blasts to the children – specifications for a habitable space for them to come down and… meet.”

“Ah,” Tosh said.  “That would be that strange file I found when I finally got in to the Home Office’s mainframe.  Apparently, these guys like a very toxic environment.”  She listed the various gases filling the space.

“Blimey,” Owen said.  “They definitely couldn’t take our atmosphere, and that soup they’ve requested would kill us off, right quick.”

“And they’re coming tomorrow,” Donna said.

“So where were you, all day, between grabbing the relatives and taking tea with the queen?” Owen asked.

“Unconscious,” Ianto muttered.

“You could have brought us lunch, and you were taking a bloody nap?  You’re a right twat, you know that?” Owen’s tirade didn’t gain its usual momentum as Ianto sort of squirmed.  Owen noticed that he looked like shit.  “Wait, you didn’t say sleep.  You said unconscious.  What, the shock of your granddad and Harriet too much for you?”

Jack had turned and was staring at Ianto, now.  “What happened?” he demanded.

“Steven started chanting.  So I decided to try to see where the message was coming from.”

“You didn’t.”  Jack groaned.  “Ianto, tell me you didn’t use legilimency to probe a message from an unknown alien source.”

Ianto shrugged. 

“What happened?” Owen asked.

“Shifted completely, without meaning to.  Got a brainful of the creatures.  Knocked me on my arse for four and a half hours.”

Owen was up and around the table then, flashing a light in Ianto’s eyes and doing the checks that Ianto was fairly certain were done for stroke victims.  Once Owen had satisfied himself that Ianto was unharmed, he sat back down.

“Well?” Jack asked, impatient.  “You do something stupid, you at least have something to show for it?”

“Jack,” Toshiko admonished.

“The language was not verbal.  It was… liquid, if that makes sense.” 

“No, it doesn’t,” Owen frowned.

Ianto ignored him.  “It was all squishes and shrieks.  Dark and desperate and cunning and… something I can’t put my finger on, but it was familiar, in an unpleasant way.”

“Any idea what they want?”

Ianto nodded, looking haunted.  “The children.”

“What?” Gwen asked.

Ianto squeezed his eyes shut.  “They covet the children they’re using to speak through.  Like a…”  His eyes got wide.  “Oh, gods.  Like a craving.  That was the darkness.”  He stood up and started pacing, muttering to himself.  He seemed to be coming undone.

Owen’s first inclination was to back away, expecting the electrical sparks, next.  But then he realized – Ianto was in full control of his magic, even though he was coming a bit unraveled.  It was a relief, though he didn’t like to see the unflappable wizard this disturbed.

“Ianto,” Jack put himself in Ianto’s path.  “Share with the class?”  It was much more an order than a question, and Ianto looked at Jack a moment before sitting down again.

“The darkness, the craving.  My,” he swallowed, looking around the table before continuing with difficulty.  “My tad,” he said quietly.  “When he was craving the firewhisky.  There’d be that same feeling, in the air.”  He shuddered, then wrapped his arms around himself to keep from trembling.  “Why would they crave children, Jack?”

Jack stood, leaning on his hands as they rested on the table, his head hung low.  “Prepubescent children, with just the right hormone balance…  Might be a heady brew, for some species.”

“That’s disgusting,” Mickey declared.

“And you’ve dealt with them before?” Ianto asked.

Jack nodded but did not look at them.  “So what’s your plan?” he asked.  “I know you have one.  You never don’t.  Let’s hear it.”

Ianto sighed.  “Fine.  The Queen’s briefing papers stated that Cabinet Office Briefing Room A will be used, for the duration.”

“Sure, COBRA’s the only place big enough for the cabinet, as well as the inevitable guests,” Jack reasoned.  “We can’t bug it, you know.  They sweep for bugs before and after every meeting, and before the meetings begin, to be sure no one has brought anything in.”

Ianto smiled.  “That would be a problem, if whatever device we planted were broadcasting normally.”  He looked at Toshiko.  “But we have this handy new subwave network that no one knows about, so they wouldn’t know to scan for it, now would they?”

Tosh’s eyes gleamed.  “I could modify our cameras to operate and transmit on the subwave frequency.  I could even use the signal to get into their computers while they’re in the room.”

“Do you have what you need to make those modifications?” Ianto asked.

Tosh nodded.  “You’ll want eight cameras, right?  Four for COBRA, four for the meeting chamber in Thames House?”  At Ianto’s nod, she said.  “There’ll need to be a relay, but you can stick one on the roof of each building.  And maybe a booster in the chamber, in case we need to take over, at some point.”

“Can you have it ready by three?” he asked.

“It’s a round the clock facility.  You won’t be able to just sneak in, witching hour or not,” Jack pointed out.

“What kind of niffler do you take me for?” Ianto asked, though his smile was unconvincing.  “I come prepared.”  He stood and pulled something from his pocket that was fluid and silvery grey.

Jack gaped.  “That’s… but… where…?”

Ianto shook out the shimmering cloak and twirled it around him, disappearing beneath it.

“What is that?” Tosh jumped up from her seat and walked towards where Ianto had been standing, her hands out in front of her.  “Where’d you go?”

Ianto pulled the cloak off, and he was on the other side of the room.  “It’s an invisibility cloak.  Softer shoes, and I can sneak just about anywhere, I think.”

“Harry gave you one of the Deathly Hallows?” Jack asked.

“Loaned,” he shrugged.  It hadn’t taken much convincing, what with Ginny pregnant again and children everywhere being threatened.  “The other two are safe enough.”  He knew better than to be surprised that Jack knew about the Deathly Hallows.

Toshiko was running the material through her hands.  “This is amazing,” she said.  “I don’t suppose…”

“Absolutely not,” Ianto answered, quickly secreting it away, again.  “So this will work, right?  I’ll go and plant the cameras – and I think we have about a dozen of those pebble-sized perception filters that should mask the cameras from sight.  We’ll have eyes and ears on this first contact, and we’ll be able to formulate a plan, accordingly.”

“I think I should go with you,” Gwen said.  “I can go get Clem from lockup and meet up with you, once you’ve done your cat burglar thing.  Then we can come back here and try to figure out why he’s chanting along with the children.”

Ianto nodded.  “Can they hold him until then?”

Gwen answered in the affirmative.

Ianto turned to the door.  “I’m going to go figure out what to wear whilst sneaking around.  Then I’m going to grab some kip.  I’ll be back at three.”

“Not so fast,” Owen spoke up.  “A cup of coffee is not dinner.”

“Tea with the Queen.  Remember?”

“And what before that?”

Ianto frowned.  It had been dinner with Jack, two days before, but he didn’t want to admit it to Owen.  “I still feel ill from the 4-5-6 reading,” he admitted.  “I really don’t feel like eating.”

“I’ll get you an antiemetic, but I’m going to have to insist, Ianto,” Owen had on his serious doctor face.

“Here, Ianto.  I don’t want my egg drop soup.  How about we put some rice in.  Something bland, but it’ll get Owen off your back,” Toshiko was already spooning rice into the soup container.

“Oi,” Owen complained half-heartedly.  Of them all, Toshiko was the most likely to persuade Ianto to do something he didn’t want to do.  Even more so than Jack right now, with that weird distance between them that even Owen noticed.  He gave her a wink and went to get the antiemetic.

Owen gave Ianto the shot and they discussed the files Tosh had found as they ate.  Ianto made an effort, but by the time he was half done with his soup, even Owen couldn’t subject him to forcing down any more.

Ianto apparated to his flat and found something suitable to wear.  He hadn’t done any serious breaking and entering in quite a while, so he didn’t really have precisely what would be ideal – particularly in the way of footwear – but he had something that would be good enough.

He set his alarm and fell into his bed for a few hours’ sleep.  When he woke, he showered and dressed and headed to the hub, where he retrieved the perception filter pieces from the archives.  By the time he came back upstairs, it was quarter to three, and Gwen had not arrived, yet.

“Ianto, a word?” Jack disappeared into his office.

Ianto made coffee for Donna, Tosh, Jack and himself and headed to Jack’s office, his heart heavy.  He handed Jack his coffee and stood, watching him warily.

“You look like you feel better,” Jack observed, relieved.

“I’d never tell Owen, but I think the food helped.  And the sleep.”

“Good,” Jack nodded.  Then he sighed.  “Ianto, I owe you several apologies,” he said.

“There’s no need, Jack,” Ianto said briskly.  “Alice explained.  Even admitted she’d been out to hurt you, because of what her mother had taught her about Torchwood.”

Jack looked surprised at that.

“For what it’s worth, I think she regrets it.  You should call her.”

“I already did.”

Ianto nodded.

“And I’m sorry for overreacting, about the couple thing.”

“It’s fine, Jack.  Really.  I was the one being foolish.  I won’t cause any trouble, I promise.”

“What?”

“Ianto!  Time to go!” Gwen called out.

Ianto moved to the door, thankful for the opportunity to escape. 

“Ianto, wait,” Jack called out.  What was he talking about?  He tried to recall the fight, and then it hit him.  The way Ianto was behaving, he had clearly interpreted what Jack had said as meaning that he was done.

Toshiko was handing Ianto a backpack and showing him all of the components, explaining where each would need to be installed.  Jack leaned against Gwen’s desk, watching Ianto, in a black Henley top and black trousers.  Soft, leather-soled lace-tied shoes that looked made for sneaking completed the look, and the man looked delicious. 

Tosh showed him detailed pictures of each place he would be going in each building, to be sure he apparated to the right locations.  “COBRA first, right?” she confirmed.  “There’s no one there.  I’ll let you know if that changes.  Let me know before you head in.”

Ianto nodded, then looked at Gwen.  “You ready?”

“Just about,” she said, tucking her phone into her pocket.

Jack strode up to Ianto, wrapped his arms around him, and gave him a swift, hard kiss.

“What are you doing?” Ianto asked, his expression confused.

“Letting you know you might have misinterpreted something I said,” Jack replied in a low voice.  “We’ll talk later, okay?”

Ianto shook his head, then took Gwen’s hand.  He turned on the spot, and they were gone.

***

They returned several hours later, with Clem retching from the side-along apparition.  Ianto immediately left to return the cloak to Harry at the Ministry.  Luna caught him before he left, for a quick word.

When he returned to the hub, Clem was just waking up from the sedative Owen had given him when he’d arrived.  Rhys handed Clem a cup of coffee.  Clem looked at Gwen.  “He’s your husband?”

“Yes.  Yes, yes, my beloved,” she sent a smile Rhys’ way.

“Nice house, isn’t it?”

“We do our best.”

Ianto gratefully took a coffee from Rhys.

“I’ve stayed in worse,” Clem nodded.  “And who’s the queer?”

“Oi!” Ianto exclaimed.  “It’s not 1965 anymore.”

Clem nodded at Gwen.  “He’s queer.  I can smell it.”

Ianto ignored him and strolled over to Tosh’s workstation.  “Are we good?”

“Receiving on all eight cameras.  They just did a sweep,” she grinned.  “Didn’t see a thing.”

Ianto nodded.  “Where’s Jack?”

“Said he needed some air.”

“Probably on a roof,” Mickey muttered.

“It’s not just them up there,” Clem spoke up again.  “It’s the man.  He’s come back, after all these years.  I can smell him.”

“What man?” Gwen asked.  “Who is he?”

“It’s the same man.  I knew he’d come back for me.”

“Schools are closed,” Donna announced, turning up the Prime Minister’s broadcast.  Green announced the schools would be closed, as well as a temporary curfew for all kids under eighteen.

“This would be really embarrassing, if I’d voted for him,” Ianto mused.

“You’re a wizard.  You don’t vote, anyway,” Owen pointed out.

“True,” Ianto sniffed.  “But still.”

Tosh smacked him on the shoulder.

They spent the rest of the morning and the better part of the afternoon, just waiting.  Once she’d slept for a few hours, Tosh entertained herself by hacking everyone hanging out in COBRA.  She was having some difficulty getting into Thames House.  “They’ve built an extra firewall,” she complained.  “It’s going to take a bit of time, but I’ll get there.”

Late in the afternoon, Clem stood and pointed towards the west.  Ianto immediately stood before him, his eyes flashing golden as he once more followed the signal.  He had an idea, but he had to find the thread…  He pulled away from Clem and shifted fully into the animagus as he found his way, this time without the surrogate.  He vaguely heard Clem speak.

“We are here.”

He counted it as a win that he managed to keep from fainting, this time.  Owen quickly handed him a small rubbish bin and gave him a shot as he heaved into it.  “I’m not sure this is the best idea, mate, if it makes you ill every time you do it.”

“They’re so distracted by the children that they didn’t notice me there,” Ianto said.

“Are you sure?”

Ianto nodded.

“What do you have in mind?”

“Not sure, yet.”

They all watched as Frobisher initiated contact with the creature.

“Ew!” Donna spoke for all of them as the thing vomited and shrieked its conversation.  They listened with even more disgust as Frobisher spoke, convincing the alien not to mention their previous visit.

“Bloody sleazeballs,” Donna seethed.

In COBRA, the American general began giving the prime minister all kinds of hell for not following the UN statutes.  Then Green very neatly removed himself from the negotiations.  What was comical was that the American general and UNIT colonel actually seemed to think they’d won something.

“Oh, he’s too slick,” Mickey sneered.

“That’s okay, he’s just saving himself for the Queen’s wrath,” Ianto grinned.

At nineteen hundred hours, Frobisher re-entered the chamber to initiate the talks.  After a lengthy introduction that even the alien seemed bored with, the initial discussion made it clear that the 4-5-6 were going along with Frobisher’s lie.  They went on to ask for a gift.

“A gift?  Gladly.  But what do you want?” Frobisher asked.

“We want your children.  We will take your children.”

“I’m sorry.  I think that there might be a problem with the translation,” Frobisher had the gall to seem surprised.

“Bloody hell,” Donna said.  “They were here before, asking for a bunch of kids.  Did these people really think that they’d never come back for more?”

“You don’t think…” Gwen looked shocked.

“They want to take them, like they did before,” Clem said.  “Like the man did.  He’s coming back.  He’s coming back.”

“Not now, Clem,” Gwen said impatiently.  “Just wait.”

“He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.  He’s coming.”

“Can we sedate him again?” Mickey asked under his breath.

The alarm sounded and the cog wheel door rolled back.  Jack strode in.

Over the feed, Frobisher said, “By children, you mean…”

“Your descendants.  The offspring of the Human race.”

“How many?”

“Ten percent.  We want ten percent.  We want ten percent of the children of this world.”

“No.  Way.” Donna looked aghast.

 “He hasn’t changed!” Clem exclaimed.  “He’s the same.  He’s the same.  He’s the same.  All those years, how can he be the same?”

“What’s he talking about, Jack?”

“Clement MacDonald.  Just another name.  It was easier if you didn’t know the names.”

“You were there in 1965?”

“He was the man,” Clem said.

“No, no, this is what he does, you see,” Gwen explained.  “He fights them.  He fights aliens.  Isn’t that right, Jack?”

“No,” Jack said.  He glanced at Ianto but looked quickly back at Gwen and Clem.

“Then what were you doing there?” she asked.

“I gave them the kids,” he said, his shoulders slumped.  “1965, I gave them twelve children.”

“What for?” she looked shocked.

“As a gift,” he replied.

***

**Author's Note:**

> Some dialogue lifted from CoE.
> 
> So this one feels a bit like a "bridge episode". Not much big happening, but a lot of little things that have to happen before we get to day four. Bear with me, though. The next one will have more going on.
> 
> Thanks for reading! :)


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